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See the Dolphins in the Black Isle!

I thought I knew Scotland well until I found the beautiful gem
of the Black Isle. What a
gorgeous peninsula surrounded on three sides by water – the Cromarty Firth, the
Beauly Firth and the Moray Firth. As the saying goes – something for
everyone! The hubs had the
delight of tastings at the Black Isle Brewery and bought a fair few bottles
before we headed to Chanonry
Point (between Fortrose and Rosemarkie) where
we promised our 4 year old Roddie that we might spot dolphins. I wasn’t convinced we’d
have any chance of seeing these
gorgeous mammals (don’t we need to head to the Caribbean for that?) and was all
set to bribe him and offer cheer with a doughnut at the Cromarty Bakery in Fortrose. I needn’t have worried. What a truly show stopping surprise to
be welcomed at the shores of the Moray Firth by an amazing display of ducking
and diving by the beautiful dolphins – we were in luck! It was about 10:30am in the morning
and it was a rising tide which apparently is the best time to have a chance of
seeing them. What a
complete treat. The most memorable part of our trip.

This whole peninsula is a joy – we celebrated our ‘at one with
nature’ moment with a Black Isle Dairy ice cream before we headed on to
Cromarty – what a find with its Georgian
merchant houses. Quite the hidden gem.

There are lots of lovely places to eat in the Black Isle; our
favourite was the Allangrange Arms in Munlochy. Really tasty food, good
prices and a wee activity box complete with a finger of fudge for the
underling. Denied a doughnut in Fortrose, he fair perked up at the sight
of this. The Black Isle is a brilliant base for Highland touring.
Other highlights of our trip included the beach at Dornoch, Urquhart Castle on the shores of Loch
Ness and the ‘Corner on the Square’ in Beauly; a fantastic wee delicatessen
for lunch. We only
scratched the surface of this stunning part of Scotland and its great unique
selling point as a base for further afield exploring. We’ll be back.

@Kitty_MacHow amazing to see dolphins! That was a real treat indeed! There are regular boat trips in the Moray Firth to see dolphins and wildlife. I've never seen dolphins but I've seen plenty of seals in the Firth of Forth though